New Zealand's Erika Fairweather competes in the final of the women's 400m freestyle swimming event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on July 27, 2024. Photo: AFP / SEBASTIEN BOZON
Analysis - Erika Fairweather did not care much for the narratives written ahead of the highly anticipated showdown in the women's 400m freestyle on the opening night at the pool at the Paris Olympics.
She only cared about the story she had written for herself.
Hers did not end like this. A fourth placing in an Olympic final, a mere 26 one hundredths of a second off the podium.
But not a lot went to script in a race that was variously dubbed in international media "the race of the century", and the punnier "splash of the Titans".
Only five women in history, including Fairweather, have swum the 400m event in under four minutes. Four of them were lined up in the start blocks at La Defense Arena in Paris for the Olympic final on Sunday morning (NZT).
The showdown between defending Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus of Australia, US superstar Katie Ledecky and Canadian teen sensation Summer McIntosh, while an intriguing battle, in the end, did not produce the anticipated fireworks.
It was clear early on it would be a two-way dual between Titmus and McIntosh - the current world record holder and the teen sensation who took the record off the Australian for a brief period in 2023.
Ultimately Titmus, who became just the second Australian woman to successfully defend an Olympic crown, had the edge. The Tasmanian-born torpedo clocked 3 minutes 57.49 seconds to win from McIntosh (3:58.37), with Ledecky claiming bronze in time of 4:00.86.
Like Ledecky, Fairweather slipped off the pace early.
New Zealand's Erika Fairweather competes in a heat of the women's 400m freestyle swimming event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on July 27, 2024. Photo: AFP/JONATHAN NACKSTRAND
Read more:
- Live: All the action from the first official day of the Olympics
- NZ athletes to look out for on day two
- How many Olympic medals are NZ athletes tipped to win?
- In pictures: NZ athletes in action on the first day
The young Kiwi fell as far back as sixth at the 250m mark, before rallying over the final quarter of the race. Fairweather looked to have a chance of rolling Ledecky over the final 25m, but the US great, who has six Olympic gold medals to her name, held her off.
Up against three once-in-a-generation talents, who just happened to coincide in the same generation, the odds were always stacked against Fairweather.
History, too, was stacked against her.
Not since Jean Stewart won bronze in the 100m backstroke at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki has a New Zealand woman stood on the podium in an Olympic swimming event.
But there was hope.
Those hopes surged after Fairweather produced a calm and confident swim in the heats in the morning, executing her race plan to perfection to edge out McIntosh into the third qualifying spot for the final.
Speaking to media following her head-turning performance in the morning heats, Fairweather said she aimed to "shake things up" in the final, having flown under the radar in much of the build-up as the focus fell on the big three.
New Zealand's Erika Fairweather poses with her gold medal on the podium of the women's 400m freestyle swimming event during the 2024 World Aquatics Championships at Aspire Dome in Doha on February 11, 2024. Photo: SEBASTIEN BOZON
In the evening she returned to the mixed zone, in the bowels of La Defense Arena, shaken.
A clearly emotional Fairweather needed a moment to compose herself before fronting the media.
It was not fourth that hurt the most for Fairweather.
It was knowing that if she could have found the type of speed that saw her take out the world title in Doha earlier this year, she could have added an Olympic medal to her growing CV.
"That was everything I had in the tank today. It wasn't the performance I wanted to put out there at all. I've been much faster, and I think I can go much faster, but that is the nature of sport - you can't always be on," she said.
"Obviously I'm a little bit gutted to get fourth. Nobody wants to be there, but I have done myself proud. I mean that was an Olympic final and I just came fourth in it."
The 400m freestyle is considered one of the sport's most punishing events, lying somewhere in the middle between a sprint and an endurance race.
It is power and velocity, but sustained over eight lung-burning lengths of the pool.
It was clear by the 150m mark that the punishing pace of the race was taking its toll on Fairweather. After touching in third behind Titmus and McIntosh over the first two laps, Fairweather faded back to fifth by the mid-way point in the race, leaving her with too much to do over the final 200m.
The 20-year-old said she could feel early on that it was not "clicking" for her, but she could not put her finger on what it was that held her back from producing her best.
"It is what it is," was all she could muster in explanation, her pained expression betraying her casual response.
"I just wish I had more today."
History may remember the opening night of swimming finals at the Paris Olympic Games as the night Titmus defended her Olympic crown and underlined her dominance in women's swimming.
But when the disappointment fades and perspective is gained, Fairweather can remember it as the night she took her place in the race of the century.
Shoulder to shoulder with the titans.
